His Father's Keeper
by HexxKitten
Summary: **COMPLETE ** Draco & Hermione meet again at University, a delicate friendship develops, but Draco has a Secret which involves his father, what will happen when his secret & his friend collide?    **EDITED to take into account something in a review**


NEW A/N 24/11/2010 STORY EDITED: to take into account a comment in a review which I agree with, I have lengthened this story slightly... no major change just made the flow / timeline better ... Hexx

A/N whilst working on several other fics, this one hopped through my brain… Those plot bunnies really can be rabid when they wish it ;)

b**WARNING**/b this piece of fiction contains mentions of violence and suicide.

b**HIS FATHERS KEEPER**/b

He sat chewing on the end of his pen, he was surprisingly using a muggle ballpoint, and even more surprising was the little white ear buds sticking out of his ears as he nodded his head to an unheard beat. He was totally oblivious to the room around him as he chewed, nodded to the music in his ears and read his book.

Normally to her the library was a sacrosanct location, but this was just too good to miss.

Dropping her stack of books onto the free desk space opposite him, she smiled as he jumped and dropped his pen onto his book.

"Morning Malfoy…" she said with a smile.

Pulling his ear buds from his ears, he turned the music off on his new muggle music and telephone device and smiled back "you're late Granger…"

"Well if you don't want your coffee I can take it back…" she smirked at him, knowing there was not a chance he would turn down a coffee, especially in a morning.

"Nooooo…" Draco cried dramatically before holding out both arms and wiggling his fingers "gimme gimme"

Hermione handed him the cup with a laugh "you've got a monkey on your back there Mr Malfoy; I fear you have a caffeine addiction."

"Oh like you don't" he laughed "caffeine, the staple diet of students the world over"

They laughed for a couple of minutes and caught up on each others news before beginning to work.

It was not the first project they had worked on together since they had both turned up at the same university, on the same course no less. Both were training to become Potions Masters, and following two years at University they would both leave the relative safety of schooling to move in with their mentor to complete the apprenticeship portion of their training.

Bizarrely still they both had the same Mentor; Professor Snape had come out of retirement to take them both on the urging of Professor Dumbledore. It seemed he was having problems hiring competent Potions Professors and felt that Snape would be able to Mentor the two best students for many years and in return he would finally get not one but two new Potions Professors: Draco and Hermione were not aware of that part of the meddling old mans plans, they just believed they were lucky: or not, to have Professor Snape to be their Mentor.

During their first year they had slipped into a strange friendship, it was not what she'd had with Harry and Ron, but it was a huge step from their relationship at school.

School was due to break up that afternoon for half term, they would have a week to themselves, to kick back, relax, chill out, do all the things a nineteen year old would enjoy… but no, they both had a mountain of work they needed to get through and of course Hermione was as fastidious as ever in ensuring that not just she but Draco stayed up to date with their coursework.

"Gods Granger, enough, were you this bad with Weasel and Potty?" he asked her as he stretched his shoulders and heard them give a satisfying crack.

"Don't call them that Malfoy" she replied without looking up "and yes, I was"

"So you going home for this break?" yes, I'm going to be spending time with my parents. What about you Malfoy?"

He looked thoughtful, he would not be going home to his parents, he didn't really have parents anymore. Oh they were alive, but his Mother now lived in Italy with some Count she had met whilst 'separated' from his Father. Eventually she had divorced Lucius, the whole marriage being over with the signing of a form and the wave of a wand, but for the existence of him their entire marriage would have been annulled, expunged, deleted, he was the only reason the marriage of his parents was still registered at all. The Ministry had agreed to all of Narcissa's demands after she claimed 'unreasonable behaviour' and frankly who could blame her.

Lucius had managed to evade time in Azkaban, mainly he surmised because of his money and influence; one did not reach Lucius' position in life without having enough dirt on those around you to ensure they always danced to your tune. But Lucius had been losing it since the death of Voldemort, Draco often wondered if the old man had not undergone one too many Crucio's. But the truth was that all of the evil and nastiness inside Lucius Malfoy now had no channel.

Oh he had not truly bought into the whole pureblood crap, he had merely found that being a Death Eater permitted him to commit cruelty that would not be tolerated normally. Draco had known for a long time that his Father was not quite hinged in the right direction, he had often seen his mother with bruises she would only be permitted to cover when they had company or when Lucius permitted her to go out, Lucius it seemed not only liked to create those bruises, he enjoyed seeing the evidence of his 'work'.

Since he had no Death Eater mask to hide behind he had been getting more and more morose, and then when Narcissa had left him, he had pretty much cracked. Wrecking large portions of Malfoy Manor in his rage, he had totally flattened what had been Narcissa's wing of the house; he claimed he was punishing her for leaving. But Draco could not make him understand that as Narcissa was not there now, he was merely punishing himself, and in time Draco, for the house was to be inherited by him one day.

Then he had found his Father's cruelty was being used elsewhere, he had begun to go out and come back with blood on his clothing, and then he heard stories of young women going missing, or turning up tortured. He had hated to think it, but every fibre in his body had cried out saying 'you know it's him' and so he had to act. It was harsh, and he could be acusing his Father wrongly, but he knew deep in his heart that he was not. So he had stunned his Father, removed his wand, and changed the wards on the house to not permit Lucius to leave his own wing. He had the house elves to bring him anything he needed, and Severus would still visit him.

Draco had confided in Severus Snape his suspicions about his Father and Severus had sadly agreed, especially after a week under house arrest and there were no more missing girls or attacks. Severus had assisted Draco with changing the wards on the Manor, with the assistance of his GrandFathers portrait, Draco had explained that once again his Father was tarnishing the Malfoy name and by the time Draco inherited the family name would be utterly destroyed, and so his GrandFather had assisted with the family magic which protected the Manor.

These days Draco rarely went home, he would check in with his Father, but the man would rage insanely, smashing his own belongings, and screaming at Draco whenever he saw him. He would also talk to himself, sometimes Draco thought he was talking to the Dark Lord the way he spoke, raging against those who wronged him, and on these days it would be muggles and muggleborns. At times like these Draco would be truly afraid of his Father and he saw that the man truly was insane.

"Malfoy?" Hermione broke into his thoughts "are you ok?"

Draco looked at her confused for a moment, "sorry, just thinking about something I have to do, but no, I won't be going home this holiday, I will be all on my ownsome… studying… why do you feel sorry for me and want to take me home with you?" he added the last bit with a grin and a rather Ron-like wiggle of his eyebrows

Hermione laughed "I would Malfoy, but my parents haven't had their anti rabies shots" she poked her tongue out at him. "So really, what are you doing?"

He saw the flash of sadness in her eyes, that was something he would never get used to, the compassion she had for everyone and everything, her heart was right there on her sleeve and even though he had spent years treating her like shit, she treated him as though that had never happened, she was the eternal optimist, always ready to hand out second, third and fourth chances. The old part of him which was buried deep down inside him sneered, she made herself so open to attack on every level, and she made herself a prime target.

But then he felt an ache in his chest that made him want to wrap his arms around her and protect her from the world, protect her from pain, protect her from… well from people like he had been.

"Oh I'll be fine, I'm going to have a movie marathon, I'm meeting up with Blaise and some other friends, and my Mother is pestering me to go visit her in Italy, so I might drop by for a little while."

"Oh Italy sounds very nice" she smiled as she started to stuff her papers and books into her bag "will you be going to visit your Father?" she asked innocently. All of the years at school, that Draco had been spouting 'my Father….' He now never mentioned him, ever.

Packing up his own books, he never looked up as he replied "no…"

As they left the library to part for the next week, Hermione looked at Draco, really the guy had no right to be so handsome, if they hadn't got the past they had, if she thought he might ever lower himself to date a 'mudblood' she would try flirting with him. Oh he didn't talk about pureblood and mudblood anymore, but she knew it was all so deeply ingrained in him that a mudblood, like her, would never truly stand a chance with him, and so here she was, forever the friend, just like she had been with Harry and Ron. They had both considered her to be a friend and sister, even though she had fancied Ron for a long time and even Harry too for a while, but here she was 'forever the bridesmaid' was the story of her life as she had stood up for the weddings of Harry and Ginny, then Ron and Lavender. Even Neville had married for Merlin's sake, he and Luna had finally realised that they could both live in their own little worlds, together.

She'd had several dates whilst in college, but only one real boyfriend, Viktor, but they had not been together long before he went back to Durmstrang, and they had continued to be pen pals, she had even been invited to his wedding for fuck's sake! "What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Draco asked as he held open the door for her.

Even that made her feel sad, Draco was the perfect gentleman, he had old fashioned manners, she had heard so many girls around School and then University swooning and saying how he had treated them like a princess. He was smart, witty, and gorgeous, he would be perfect for her… if only…

"Just saying having a great week Draco" she said with a smile "see you a week on Monday all rested and ready to study" she added with a grin.

Draco looked at her a little confused and unsure why "you too Granger, have a good week with your folks."

It was not until she had gone to the University apparition points that he realised what had confused him. Granger had called him Draco! For the first time ever she had not called him Malfoy, she had called him Draco. He smiled to himself but was unsure why, but the thought made him feel very warm inside, all the way to the apparition point he was smiling and replaying the conversation in his mind, listening again and again to her saying his name, his real name, and he liked it, a lot.

Draco was spending his week off at his own place in Yorkshire. Sitting up on the cliffs of Whitby, the old Manor House resembled something out of the muggle book 'Wuthering Heights'. The property had been left to him by his Paternal Grandmother and she had always called it the Dower House as it had been passed down the female line of her family, always passing from daughter to daughter, but her female line had ended with her. Then upon her death she had passed to the property to her only grandson but with the proviso that he passes the property to any daughter he night have. Any son of his would of course inherit Malfoy Manor and the entire Malfoy Estate, but this would entitle his daughter to something… should he have one.

That in itself was a joke; he had no plans to marry – not in the foreseeable future. His Father had of course attempted to push him in the direction of Pansy Parkinson, purely because she was 'pureblood' and of an old family. But she was so low class and frankly and slut, there was barely a Slytherin had not had her, even the younger ones. What's more she had even screwed Crabbe and Goyle, which was scraping the bottom of the barrel.

No he had no inclination toward any of the debutants his Father had tried to foist on him.

Making himself a steaming hot mug of coffee he took it outside to the gardens, walking to the wall that bordered the edge of the cliff, the house was warded against muggles intruding on his land and like Hogwarts, unless you were magical you could not even see the property, to the average person there was merely a bare expanse of cliff overlooking the sea.

He liked it here in Yorkshire, the people were friendly when he chose to head down into the town and the countryside around was wild and foreboding, just like he felt most of the time. Sitting watching the waves crashing on the rocks below the cliffs he took a deep breath, out here the air was so clear and crisp he could truly breathe.

It was two days later that his life came crashing in on him again, he had been sitting working on his study project that needed handing in when he returned to University when his muggle phone thingy started to ring. Since entering University and taking both magical studies combined with muggle studies of mathematics and chemistry, he had embraced muggle culture more. Investing in a laptop and the iphone that was now chiming as it sat on his desk.

Picking up the phone he saw that it was Wrinkles calling. It still made him want to laugh that his parents had let him at four years old name the new born house elf, "it's wrinkled" he said and there he had decided to call the poor creature Wrinkles. The elf had an enchanted mirror at Malfoy Manor that allowed him to 'call' Draco when he needed.

"Hello Wrinkles, what's the problem now?" Draco sighed, knowing that the cause behind the call would be his Father.

"Master Draco, it be Wrinkles Sir…"

"Yes Wrinkles, I am aware of that, which is why I said 'Hello Wrinkles'" the elf never could understand that his Master could not only hear but see him on his phone.

"It's the Master, Master Draco, he… went out" the elf looked nervous his ears lying back against his head and his eyes wide and darting around.

"He did what?" Draco bellowed "when? Where did he go? How did he get out?"

"Master found a wand Sir, but he, he came back"

"Well if he is back, why are you calling me Wrinkles?" Draco asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose in the hopes of rubbing away the tension that was building.

"There is screaming Sir" the elf explained looking terrified.

"So he's raging again is he? Has he wrecked his rooms again?"

"No Master Draco; is not the Master Screaming…" the little creatures words were cut off as a scream punctuated the air in the room behind him and the creature visibly paled.

Draco heard the scream and the elf was correct, that was not his Father screaming, that was… oh dear god the bastard had gone out and come back, but he had not come back alone… "I'm coming now Wrinkles!" he yelled as he threw down his phone and ran to the fireplace, tossing in the floo powder he yelled "Malfoy Manor!"

Stepping out of the fireplace, wand in hand, Draco headed toward his Fathers wing of the house, he could hear yelling and banging, then worse still were the screams. The house elf had been correct, his Father had indeed been out and he had returned with a new victim. Feeling sick to his stomach; Draco aimed his wand and was about to un-ward the door when a gut wrenching scream rent the air, joined with a crashing and smashing sound and then all inside the room fell ominously silent…

Knowing time was definitely of the essence; Draco exploded the doors before him and burst into his Father's rooms. There he was standing proud as always, but with an insane gleam in his eyes, at his feet surrounded by shattered wood, glass and pottery was a naked female body.

"Step away from her Father!" Draco yelled.

"Ah Draco, come to assist me in teaching this piece of filth her place have you?" Lucius drawled before drawing back his foot and kicking the figure on the ground in the stomach.

"Father… I will not warn you again… move away from her!" Draco levelled his wand toward his Father, trying not to show how he was trembling.

"Oh Draco you disappoint me, I should have known you would be weak as you share her blood, your Mother was weak, Black blood is weak and look at your Aunt Bella, the Black's breed insanity. Would that I had known this sooner, I would have gotten rid of your Mother and you before you grew to be such a disappointment." Lucius raised his head toward his son and drew a wand from behind his back, he paused for a moment as though trying to decide which target to go for first, but then with a cold snarl he pointed his wand toward his son "Avada…."

"Stupefy!" Draco screamed, watching dispassionately as his Father fell to the ground next to the body on the floor. "incarcerous" he called, watching coldly as ropes bound his Father as he lay unconscious on the floor of his room. He was stunned, his Father had truly lost his mind now, and he had tried to kill him!

Draco knew he needed to decide what to do about his Father now, he was not safe to leave anymore, he had finally slipped into insanity and he had to be stopped, but could he take the ultimate step and kill his Father? Or have him sent off to Azkaban?

He stood choking back his tears when he heard a soft moan which was not from his Father, he realised then that the girl was alive still and she needed his help and fast. Dropping to the floor he yelled for the house elf to help him, wrapping the girl in his arms he ordered the elf to stay with his Father, giving the elf permission to stun him should be wake before Draco returned, then he picked up the wand his Father had been using and snapped it, slipping it into his pocket before he disapparated taking the unconscious girl with him.

Laying the girl on the bed in the suite next to his own at the Dower House and covering her with a sheet, he moved to the fireplace and placed an urgent call to Severus Snape, requesting he come over right away and bring with him all of the medicine potions he had. Part of Draco knew he should probably take the girl the St Mungo's, but he would have to explain to them that his Father had done this, and he didn't even know whether the girl was Witch, Muggle or somewhere in-between.

Mere minutes later Severus arrived through the floo and looked at Draco as he paced the room, he saw the girl on the bed and snapped "Draco what did you do?"

"You really think me capable of this?" he asked sadly.

Severus looked at his Godson and realised that he did not truly think the boy could have done this. "What happened to her Draco?"

"Father happened to her… he got out, Wrinkles called me to tell me that he had not returned home alone" he looked over at the girl on the bed "she was like this when I got there "Father…" Draco heard the crack in his voice as he tried to explain "he did this, and then he tried to kill me…"

Severus moved over to the bed to the girl "he tried to kill you?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, I had to stun and bind him; he is at the Manor now." Draco looked at the girl on the bed "can you save her Severus?"

"I am no healer Draco, she ought to be in St Mungo's but I supposed that I understand…" after ordering Draco to bring him a bowl of hot water, some clean cloths and bandages, he set about checking how the girl was.

Draco was coming out of the en-suite bathroom carrying a Pitcher of hot water and a ewer to poor it into, beneath his arms he had stacks of clean towels and cloths and one of his elves had been dispatched to collect bandages. Severus was moving the girls hair and wiping the blood from her face, Draco heard Severus gasp he looked over to his Godfather "what is it?"

It was then that Draco saw, the girl… "Oh my gods Granger!" he dashed to the bed "no…" he gasped "it can't be her."

Severus looked up at the boy and raised an eyebrow "I will do what I Draco, but I can can make no promises, now kindly remove yourself from the room while I work if you would."

He considered arguing, but the look on his Godfather's face told him right away that he would brook no arguments.

Moving through into the next suite, which was his own, Draco paced the room, watching the clock on the mantel as it ticket the time away unbelievably slowly. All the time his mind was repeating the mantra "please don't let her die, please don't let her die…"

His mind went back to other times his Father had done this, he recalled the girls his Father had ordered the elves dispose of discreetly. Closing his eyes as he recalled the newspaper articles outlining the young witches who had been found abused, raped and beaten, they had been lucky, the muggle girls had all been killed afterwards, but what of Granger, what had he done to her? She was in his Father's eyes the lowest of the low; a mudblood. Draco could only pray that he had gotten there in time to ensure she survived.

But if she survived, what would become of her then? He knew from the newspapers that two of the witches he had abused had killed themselves just weeks later and one young muggle had survived until Draco had arrived.

That night had been before his Father was locked in, but the night had gone the same way, an elf telling him about screaming, Draco arriving to find his Father torturing the poor girl. He had locked his Father in and taken the girl to his own suite, he had been trying to get her help and clean her up; when he went into the bathroom she had struggled from the bed to the French windows.

Gods he could still feel the breeze on his skin, still recall moving from the bathroom back to his room, still see the windows open, he had moved to the balcony and looked over the edge, already knowing what he would see. He still had nightmares where he saw the poor girl laying beneath his window, her body beaten and broken, and her eyes glazed and unseeing. His Father had made her feel there was nothing worth living for; he had made her feel that death was preferable to life.

It was after this he had put his Father on lock-down and he had moved out of the Manor, he could not enter those rooms without seeing that girl. Oh gods what was he going to do, he could not lose Hermione this way, not now, not without her knowing…

Draco looked up as Severus came into the room, his Godfather looked tired, and glancing at the clock he saw that he had been in his room for an hour.

"I have done all that I can for now Draco, she had many broken bones, severe bruising, she was cut over most of her body and she has the intermittent tremors associated with cruciatus aftershocks. I have given her bone healing potions, blood replenishing and pain relieving potions. I also gave her a dreamless sleep potion, she should be out for a while, but someone should watch over her.

"I will take care of her, she can stay here as long as she needs" Draco replied, he looked pale, bordering on grey "was she… did he?" he couldn't bring himself to say the words, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the response.

Severus put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "I found no sign he violated her that way Draco, but knowing your Father, he would have, you saved her life and saved her from that."

Draco sighed deeply "I only saved her life if she survives and can get past this" he whispered.

Nodding Severus sat opposite his Godson "Draco, what do you want to do about Lucius? You know he is not safe left at the Manor, I know you do not want him putting in Azkaban, but he needs to be stopped doing this again."

"I know, he needs to be put somewhere safe, somewhere he cannot harm another soul, and I need to do it."

"Draco, you are not alone in this, I took an oath once with your Mother to protect you, I agreed to be your Godfather when you were a baby and swore to protect you, I just never expected to have to protect you from your own Father, but I will."

Severus held his hand out to Draco, "come let us get this over with, and then you can come back and take care of Hermione, she will need you Draco."

He let his Godfather pull him to his feet and then he followed him through the floo to Malfoy Manor. Lucius was still unconscious and bound on the floor, Severus levitated Lucius onto the bed and untied him, changing him into his usual black silk pyjamas. Once he was settled in the bed he and Draco set the room to rights.

Lucius never woke up, not even as his former best friend obliviated him, removing all of his memories back to him being a child, he left snippets of memory in place, he would from time to time recall that he'd had a wife and a son, he would see in his nightmares many of the horrific acts he had done, but the rest of what made up Lucius Malfoy was removed.

Draco held his Father's head and sobbed quietly as Severus slipped Lucius two potions, the first would put Lucius into a state which resembled what the muggles called a stroke, and the second would remove all and any traces of the first potion.

Running his hand across his Father's forehead and smoothing his hair Draco whispered "goodbye Father, I'm sorry, but you had to be stopped…"

Once the vials were vanished Severus called Wrinkles and the other house elves, he obliviated them all into believing that Wrinkles had found his Master in bed confused and ill so he had called Master Draco.

Once all of this was done he to the fireplace and floo called for a medic from St Mungo's, he explained that the Malfoy house elves had found their Master unwell and called his son, Draco had called Severus and he in turn believed that Lucius had suffered some kind of seizure. He mentioned to the medics that Lucius had often struggled with tremors from old cruciatus damage.

The medics talked between themselves and then they agreed that the nerve damage from the cruciatus had probably caused Mr Malfoy to have a Stroke. They apologised to Draco and explained that although he would probably wake up, he would no doubt have brain damage, although as yet they were unsure to what extent.

Draco sadly signed the paperwork to have his Father put into a private care facility where he would be kept safe and well for as long as he lived, although the medics mentioned that often once a person had a stroke the likelihood of another following was likely and therefore Lucius might be on 'borrowed time'.

Once the Manor was closed up and several elves left in charge, Draco took the other elves, including Wrinkles, back home with him to the Dower House. His heart was aching, how could he have done what he had to his father?

But what were his alternatives? Kill him? Send him to Azkaban and ruin the family name fully? No this way he was out of the way, he was safe, but he would still recall some of his crimes, he would be trapped inside his own mind paying for his sins.

Returning to what would normally be the Mistress of the House's suite, which was right next to and adjoining the Master Suite, Draco realised that the bed was empty. His mind began to swim, oh gods, not again… he dashed around the room, checking the windows and connecting door. He found nothing, where could she be?

He was in a panic, he couldn't lose her, he just couldn't, he had already lost so much tonight, but he would never survive if she was gone … he noticed the door to the bathroom was open slightly and then he saw on the white marble floor a puddle red…

Running to the door he couldn't open it fully as something was lodged behind the door, gently he opened it as far as he could and he slipped through into the bright white room, in doing so he had to step in her blood, it seemed symbolic somehow and he was now sure he had lost her.

Lying on the floor around her there were toiletries and a broken glass, and blood, so much blood. Had she used this broken glass? Had he broken her too? Had she taken her own life rather than live with what he did to her?

Moving to her side he had to kneel in her blood, there was so much she had to be gone surely. Reaching out he touched her neck, there was a pulse! He rolled her over expecting to see where she had used the glass on her wrists, but they were clear. Sweeping her into his arms he carried her back into the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed, he stroked her face and her eyes fluttered open.

"Draco…" she croaked before her eyes closed again.

Grabbing another couple of potions Draco returned to her and propped her up "Hermione, please stay awake for now, I need you to drink these for me" he placed a blood replenishing potion to her lips followed by another pain reliever. "I am going to have to check your wounds and heal you, I will try not to hurt you, I promise." He whispered as he stroked her forehead.

He felt so guilty as he examined her body, Severus had dressed her in one of Draco's shirts earlier and here he was unfastening it, he was surprised to see that under the shirt she wore a pair of his silk boxers, it made him smile as he thought about Severus being considerate of her modesty.

With the shirt open but covering her breasts he was able to see the extent of the cuts and bruises his Father had caused her, looked like a muggle roadmap of red cuts and blue bruising, part of him now wished he had just killed his Father, the bastard would have deserved it.

Finally he found the where she was bleeding from, one of the longer cuts down her hip and thigh had torn open and was bleeding, he closed his eyes and silently thanked the gods that she had not tried to hurt herself. He healed the cut with his wand, magical healing for cuts created with a knife or other none magical implement was only like stitches for muggles, it would hold the wound closed, but they still needed time to actually heal.

Once she was no longer bleeding, he cleaned her up he redressed her in a another of his clean shirts and tucked her into the bed, he was about to leave her and head through to his own suite, he planned on leaving the door open so that he could hear her if she needed him, but a hand snaked out and grasped his. Her fingers entwining with his she gripped him so tight that all he could do was slip onto the bed beside her and he heard her sigh softly as she drifted into what he prayed was a peaceful sleep.

Several times during the night she stirred rousing Draco from his sleep, he would just hold her tighter and whisper against her ear until she settled down again.

For about a week Draco barely left her side. Only when she was sleeping did he sneak off to take a shower and change, even then he left Wrinkles with her.

During the time she was awake he would sit with her on the bed and read to her, his voice often calming her back to sleep, aided of course with more potions for her pain and healing.

Many times though as she slept she seemed to slip into dreams from which she would wake with a scream, this caused Draco to dash back to her side, pulling her into his arms and holding her until the dreams subsided, he wished he could give her dreamless sleep but she was according to Severus allergic to one of the ingredients and so he was trying to replicate the potion with a substitution.

Finally as the room grew lighter just over a week from her attack; she woke with a scream which startled Draco awake, his mind wondering where he was and who screamed, it he had himself been dreaming and it took a while before the memories of the past week before came flooding back.

Sitting up he wrapped his arms around her "Hermione, shhh, you are safe now, he cannot harm you anymore…"

Looking around her she tried to work out whether the things that had happened had been a dream, but then the aches and pain kicked in and she knew it had not been; for she felt like she had been hit by a car. "Where am I?" she croaked.

"My place…" Draco smiled, still holding her he reached for his wand and accio'd the rest of the potions left by Professor Snape. "Here this will help with your pain" he unstoppered the bottle and handed it to her.

"What happened to me? I just remember leaving a bar to head home, did I have an accident?"

Draco looked at her and wondered how to answer that one, he had to be honest, but how?

"Hermione… my Father…"

"Oh gods, no, that was a dream, please tell me it was a dream…" she sobbed.

Drawing her into his arms he held her tight and kissed the top of her head "I wish I could, do you remember what he…"

"I thought it was a dream, but I remember bits, I don't understand how I got here…"

"Hermione, I hate to ask you this, but did he…"

Hermione looked at Draco, he looked so embarrassed, she recalled the lessons they had received in school about 'witches and wizards, birds and the bees' "No Draco, he didn't touch me, well not in that way. How long have I been here?"

"A little over a week, I contacted the university for us both, they believe we had a minor car accident and will return in a few days…"

"What happened to…" Hermione found she could not bring herself to say his name, every time she even thought of the man the expression of pure hatred in his face came flooding back to her"

Draco visibly paled as she asked and he took a deep breath before spending a while explaining what had happened and how the elf had told him what his Father had done. He explained to her where his Father now was and how he would not be able to hurt anyone ever again.

The hurt in his eyes was apparent to Hermione as he explained what his Father had done both to her and to others before her, he told her of his suspicions and what he had done to remove Lucius from ever hurting anyone else. She knew that all through school Draco had so admired his Father, emulating him and trying to be just as big an ass.

But the Draco she knew now was different, they had met again in University and his whole demeanour had changed, he was softer and more human, the cold sneer was gone and he actually smiled from time to time.

Reaching up she stroked his cheek "I am so sorry you had to see and do that Draco"

Looking down at her he could see how she felt, she was not pitying him, but she genuinely felt pain for him… without even realising he was doing it, he was moving toward her and then their lips met and Draco felt as though his entire body was suddenly boneless, he could just melt into her.

Running one hand across her cheek as his lips caressed hers, his tongue sneaking out to stroke the plump flesh, he felt her lips open to him, allowing him access, letting him into her world, her life, and her body.

Hermione moaned gently, she had thought about Draco's lips so many times, but would never admit it to him, until now. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer, stroking his tongue with her own.

Trying to get closer together Hermione found herself sitting in Draco's lap, her body pressed against his and her arms and legs wrapping around him, their lips never leaving each others.

Wrapping her fingers in his hair she found it to be just as soft and silky as it had always looked. Their kiss broke briefly and they stayed together, Draco resting his forehead against hers they just sat there holding each other before their lips met once again.

It was Draco's time to moan as Hermione moved in his lap, breaking the kiss briefly he whispered "oh gods Hermione if you do that again I wont be able to let you go…"

Hermione smiled at him softly and then ran her hands down his chest before leaning in and kissing his neck, moving her lips up until she could nibble on his ear before whispering "maybe I don't want you to let me go Draco…"

"Oh Hermione I love to hear you say my name"

"I know that feeling…" she grinned "I never thought just hearing my own name on someone else's lips could affect me so much until I heard you say it" leaning in she captured his lips again with her own as she wrapped her arms around him and ran her nails down the fabric of his shirt, enjoying the feeling of him shivering.

Draco put his hands beneath Hermione's bum and pulled her harder against him, pressing himself upwards as he did, giving her absolutely no doubt whatsoever about how much he wanted her.

As her hands reached for the front of his shirt and began to unbutton it, Draco reached up and stilled her hands, his gaze locking on hers "Hermione, you don't have to do this, you don't owe me anything, and we can stop now and never mention this again…"

Her eyes peered into his and he was sure she was reading his soul her gaze was so deep. She then smiled at him briefly before leaning in and recapturing his lips with hers, by the time they drew apart this time she whispered to him "Draco, I want this, I have…" she faltered "I have for a while now, I just never thought you…"

Placing his finger against her lips he silenced her, "before we go any further you need to know, I am not in this for a one night stand, I could have that with any witch, but I want you… and it's different, if we do this you will be mine Hermione." He looked at her to see she understood, I have waited too long for this to blow it on one night and a misunderstanding, if we do this it is not just one night, it is a beginning…"

Smiling at him she reached for his buttons once more and continued to unfasten them, "Draco, I feel the same way… and I do want you."

Draco just about lost all of his control on hearing this, mirroring her movements he began to unfasten the shirt she wore, slipping the fabric over her shoulders he groaned as he saw her breasts, he had seen them earlier whilst tending her wounds, but this was different. Her breasts were not very large, in fact much smaller than the usual brainless witches he had dated, but as he gazed upon her smooth skin, her coffee coloured nipples which stiffened as they were exposed to the air.

"Gods Hermione…" he moaned before leaning forward to take one of her nipples in his mouth. Running his tongue around the firm peak and scraping it gently with his teeth, hearing her hiss as she clung to him.

Soon they were both topless, clasping each other flesh to flesh for the first time, both revelling in just how right it felt, their skin tingling where it touched.

But the only way for them to strip further would mean magic or moving and neither of them wanted to move, so Draco drew his wand and divested them of the remainder of their clothing.

Hermione reached down between their bodies and caused Draco to hiss again as she fluttered her fingertips across the tip of his cock, although she had not seen him naked before, she could feel that he was pretty well hung, not just in length, which seemed pretty substantial, but he was so thick… she bit her bottom lip and wondered if this would even work, but gods she ached to find out.

Once again Draco mirrored her actions and ran his fingers between her nether lips, she was so soft and wet, he could feel how swollen her pussy was.

Both of them were so excited that they didn't go through a long period of foreplay, they just ached to be together and they knew they could take their time later, but for now they just wanted to get as close as was humanly possible.

As he drew his fingers from between her lips Draco let his fingers softly tap against her clit, smiling as she clung to him harder and wrapped her fingers tighter around his cock.

They both moaned in harmony and Hermione was transfixed as he raised the hand that had been between her thighs to his face, he inhaled deeply and then slid his fingers into his mouth, sucking and licking her juices from his skin, she had never seen anything so erotic, and she had never had anyone taste her 'there' but judging from the grin on Draco's face and the way he drawled "delicious…" she knew that he would be her first very soon.

She gasped as Draco suddenly grasped her arse again, raising her slightly and positioning her above his cock. "Hermione…" he moaned, trying desperately to keep control "are you sure…"

Hermione silenced him with a kiss as she sank down onto his cock with a gasp, the feel of him stretching her open was so good, it was almost painful as he was so thick, but the pain was so delicious she merely moaned.

"Fuck…" Draco gasped "so … tight…"

Hermione smiled, she had finally made Draco Malfoy incoherent and unable to argue back, if only she had know it were this easy she would have fucked him back in Hogwarts.

Clinging together, their bare chests pressed together as they moved slowly with each other; there was no fucking, no pounding, just the slow rhythmic movements of one lover against another.

Even the oh so jaded Draco was amazed to experience something sexually new… but the way she slowly raised and lowered herself and then ground down or gyrated her hips was driving him insane.

Face to face they never looked away from the others eyes, keeping that intimate contact right up to the moment Draco felt her pussy as it began to clench and flutter against his cock. Both of their bodies slick with sweat as they took each other over the edge with a cry.

Draco felt himself harden even further and his balls spasmed as he growled and filled her with his seed.

Hermione clung to him limply; her orgasm had torn through her body as she saw a shower of sparks, now her entire body was vibrating and she was sure she could feel her heart beating… in her toes…

Eventually they both fell to one side, it was not a glamorous move but neither had the energy to make elaborate moves, so falling to the side, Hermione rolling to the side and Draco pulling her into his chest; was as much as they could both manage right now.

They lay there for a long while, just holding each other, their hands entwined. "So…" Hermione broke the silence "where do we go from here?" she was nervous that Draco had not meant what he said earlier.

"Hmmm …" Draco replied dramatically before going quiet for a short while before he jumped from the bed suddenly, grabbed Hermione, picked her up, threw her gently over his shoulder and laughed "I think we start with the bathtub… then the shower… then the kitchen… the garden…"

He was still laughing and counting off locations as he carried a squealing and flailing Hermione into the bathroom…

The End


End file.
